Originally published August 2 2014
Deceased Marine's heart was stolen, likely sold on black market; US court denies his family relief
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) The tragic death of Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup further darkened when his family learned that his body was left alone and unguarded for days in the morgue, subjected to a secret autopsy in which his heart was stolen and likely sold on the black market.
On the day of his death, August 12, 2012, Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup took a gun from an Embassy security stash and shot himself in the head. He was stationed in Athens, Greece, at the time of the suicide and was later pronounced dead at Evangelismos General Hospital.
His family was stricken with grief when they heard the news, but it was the way the US Marine was treated after his death that really took the family off guard, bringing them to their knees.
The deceased US Marine was treated far worse than terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was treated in 2011. While bin Laden was given a traditional Islamic burial at sea, the body of Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup was neglected and stolen from during a secret autopsy. While he ultimately received a memorial service burial, military commanders also lied to the family about Brian's stolen heart, leaving them in the dark.
Family of deceased Marine left in the dark about their son's stolen heart
As these facts came out, the US courts made it even harder on the family of the deceased Marine, denying them an emotional distress claim, leaving them clueless as to why their family member's body was left unattended and his heart was stolen.
After Brian's body was flown to the Dover, Delaware, Air Force Base, Marines learned during a second autopsy that Brian's heart had been stolen. They kept this secret during the time leading up to the memorial service. According to court documents, the family was not notified because "that is not something you tell a grieving mother." Very little was revealed about the condition of Brian's body. Marine Staff Sgt. McClendon, whose first name was withheld, instead told the family that pieces of Brian's scalp were missing and that a hat would cover the wound, so the family could view the open casket at the memorial.
The family tried to reach closure as they signed the forms related to Brian's death, while military officials kept the whereabouts of Brian's missing heart undisclosed.
But around three weeks after the burial, another military sergeant approached the LaLoup family, asking them to sign additional forms related to Brian's death. That's when they told the LaLoup family that Brian's heart was missing.
Feeling "absolutely devastated," Brian's parents asked why they were not told about this prior to their son's funeral. Not getting any answers, the parents sued the United States, the Department of Defense, the Navy, the Hellenic Republic and the hospital in charge of overseeing Brian's body.
That's when they learned that Brian's heart was shipped with his body back to Dover -- but it was a replacement heart. In fact, according to the complaint, DNA testing showed that the heart shipped with Brian's body wasn't his.
US court denies family emotional distress claim, excusing military secrecy surrounding Sgt. Brian's missing heart
When US District Judge Stewart Dalzell heard the family's case, he sided with the US and McClendon's decision to tell the parents that it was Brian's scalp that was missing, rather than his heart. The court okayed McClendon's white lie which ultimately devastated the family.
District Judge Dalzell ruled that McClendon's decision was not "extreme or outrageous" enough to allow the LaLoup family to claim emotional distress.
"Rather than 'extreme and outrageous,' the decisions reflect contrary approaches to relaying uncomfortable facts to a grieving parent," Dalzell wrote.
Dalzell continued: "[T]he evidence the plaintiffs have adduced does not come close to showing that the United States here acted in a wanton manner. Though the removal of the heart... might have been 'likely to cause severe emotional distress,' the likelihood that failure to tell the LaLoups about the removal would cause them emotional distress was not so obvious as to constitute wanton conduct."
Why are terrorists like Osama bin Laden respected with traditional, religious burials while US Marines like Sgt. Brian LaLoup are left unattended for days in a morgue, subjected to secret autopsies and organ thefts?
Sources for this article include:
http://www.courthousenews.com
http://www.cnn.com
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